Teaching success today!
One little thing to share...
One of the Algebra I classes is a little squirrely, as they say out here in Indiana. Yesterday my cooperating teacher really yelled at them, and today she pulled a student out and took him to the library. So I'm in there by myself teaching a lesson on quadratics. I have a wireless mouse that I'm using for the first time in this class, and it's on a desk at the front of the room with the rest of my stuff. I am writing something on the board and turn around to click the mouse to change slides. Lo and behold, the mouse is missing. I know it's one of three kids on one side of the room, so I go over there and ask for the mouse back. No one offers it up, and I don't know who took it. I don't want to stare only one of them down because then they'll be offended that I think it's them, especially if it isn't (though I'm sure they were all in on it). After about 30 seconds, one of the kids pulls it up from where he was hiding it under his desk. I'm a little mad at this point because I think it's childish and I want them to be paying attention to what I'm saying, not pulling pranks. I take the mouse from him, and suddenly I think to say - "Why don't you take the mouse and click it to change slides for me?" So I give him the mouse back and ask him to change slides. The rest of the class he is mostly well-behaved, and he doesn't put his head down as usual. It was a miracle! I never think of things like this on the spot, and today I did, and it worked! Now I'm thinking that in the future I might have him or other students control the mouse for me, as long as they do it responsibly. It might make them feel more useful, responsible, and interested.
On a side note, this same cooperating teacher uses sentence-writing as a means of discipline. She has three consequences for students who misbehave in class - a warning, writing sentences, or going to the vice principal's. I always hated the idea of making kids write sentences. It seems like such an old-fashioned and ineffective punishment. However, it seems to work for her because she's been doing it for many years and she runs a really tight class. On the way home from school today, my carpooling buddy suggested if I want to use sentences, I should have kids write affirmations. So instead of having them write, "I will be respectful and not talk when Ms. Fero is talking," you could have them write, "I am respectful and will talk only when called on in class," or "I am respectful and will wait until others are done speaking to talk." I feel like there's a negative affect on students when you have them write sentences about their negative behavior, and I really like the idea of affirmations instead. My carpool buddy also suggested that writing sentences might help kids calm down if you treat it as a time out instead of as a punishment.
That's all for today! Life is getting extremely busy here.
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